TinE  OLD 

AND  NEW 

in 

SANTO 


'N^srr  YORK 


WEST  INDIES 

SHOW  I  NS 

SAKTO  DOMINGO 


P 


VO 


«  «  To 


/»<r/N 


16 


POR 


Sanio  Domingo  occupies  two-thirds  of  the  second  largest  island  in  the  West  Indies.  It  lies 
squarely  between  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  and  is  two-fifths  as  large  as  the  former  and  six 

times  as  large  as  the  latter. 


At  once  ivith  blossoms  and  uoith  ripening  fruits, 
Fruits  that  with  fragrant  nectar  richly  flow; 
Here  all  the  flowers  through  the  season  blow. '  ' 


/  I  /  O  area  of  similar  size  on  the  American  Continent  is  so  filled  with  history,  with 
/  r  romance,  with  beauty,  with  economic  possibilities.  Pan  American  problems,  with 
1  opportunities  for  Christian  service  as  is  the  little  country  of  Santo  Domingo. 

j  Here  Columbus  landed  on  his  first  trip  to  America  and  here  he  established 
his  first  American  settlement.  Here  he  lived  in  greatest  happiness  and  here  one  still  sees 
the  old  tower  in  which  he  was  imprisoned  by  his  enemies  and  whence  he  was  sent  back 
home  in  chains  and  disgrace.  Here  one  uncovers  his  head  before  the  most  sacred  shrine 
of  all  America  in  the  old  cathedral  where  rests  all  that  is  mortal  of  the  great  discoverer. 
Here  one  sees  the  sacred  walls  of  the  old  palace  erected  by  Christopher’s  son,  Diego,  for 
his  proud  wife.  Princess  Maria  de  Toledo.  Here  lived  Hernando 
Cortez  and  from  here  he  set  out  to  conquer  the  Empire  of  the  Mon- 
tezumas.  Here  is  the  house  of  Pizarro  from  which  he  began  his 
long  journey  to  Peru  and  the  conquest  of  the  Incas  whose  plunder 
was  for  so  many  years  a  source  of  wealth  for  Spain  and  which 
gave  rise  to  the  traditions  of  the  Spanish  Main.  Here  lived  Ponce 
de  Leon  and  here  he  fitted  out  his  expedition  before  he  wandered 
through  the  New  World  seeking  in  vain  for  the  fountain  of  youth. 

It  was  here  that  the  most  noble  of  all  the  early  friars.  Padre  de 
las  Casas,  began  his  notable  work  of  defending  the  Indians  from 
the  cruelties  of  the  Spaniards,  and  for  this  purpose  imported  the 
first  African  slaves  ever  brought  to  America. 


Ruins  of  San  Nicolas,  the  oldest  Church  in 
America,  erected  at  Santo  Domingo  in  1S02, 
within  ten  years  after  settlement. 


The  toiver  inhere  Columbus  was  a  prisoner, 
and  whence  he  was  sent  home  in  chains  and 
disgrace  to  face  a  bitter  future. 


Here  was  established  the  first  University  of  America  in  1538,  a  hundred  years  before  the 
United  States  had  a  college.  Here  stand  the  ruins  of  the  oldest  church  in  America.  In 
Santo  Domingo,  then,  were  concentrated  all  the  most  notable  navigators,  friars,  savants 
and  Conquistadores  who  led  the  most  romantic  movement  for  the  conquest  of  a  new  and 
unknown  continent  that  history  will  ever  record. 

Another  reason  why  Santo  Domingo  is  so  intensely  interesting  is  because  of  its  wonderful 
physical  beauty  and  economic  riches.  Experts  say  it  is  capable  of  maintaining  more  people 
to  the  square  mile  than  any  other  country  in  the  world.  A  ride  through  the  country  dis¬ 
tricts  fills  one  with  admiration  for  the  beauty  of  the  landscape  and  the  variety  of  its  prod¬ 
ucts.  On  the  same  road  one  passes  great  forests  of  cocoanut  palms,  coffee,  bananas,  sugar 
cane,  tobacco,  oranges,  pineapples,  mangoes,  aguacates,  with  such  products  as  corn  yield¬ 
ing  four  crops  annually.  The  fertility  of  the  land  is  illustrated  by  the  cane  crop.  In  Texas 
and  Louisiana  cane  must  be  planted  every  year,  in  Porto  Rico  about  once  in  three  years, 
in  Cuba  every  ten  years  and  in  Santo  Domingo  once  every  eighteen  to  twenty  years.  All 
of  the  finest  hard  woods  of  the  world  are  found  in  abundance.  Mahogany,  lignum  vitae, 
tobacco  wood,  quebracho,  rosewood  and  many  others  cover  the  mountain  sides  and  val¬ 
leys.  Precious  minerals  are  also  found  in  considerable  quantity. 


oi^is  a  and  plains  .  . 

for  planting  .  .  and  for 
villages  .  .  the  size  and 

^eness'of  the'  rivers  .  .  surpass  anything  that 
he  believed  by  one  tvho  had  not  seen  thern.”^ 

"  ■  COLUMBUS.^ 


The  typical  hut  in  which  the 
Dominican  countryman  lives. 
These  light  structures  and 
thatched  roofs  shelter  the  great 
majority  of  the  Dominican 
people. 


The  plantations,  reclaimed  from 
the  virgin  la)igle  of  tropical  vege- 
lation,  easily  supply  daily  needs, 
and  afford  valuable  prod /lets  for 
foreign  export 


In  1916  the  American  Marines 
came.  They  collected  debts, 
built  roads,  helped,  through 
their  officers,  to  establish  edu¬ 
cational  work  and  started  the 
country  toward  the  new  mate¬ 
rial  civilization. 

Now  the  Marines  are  gone;  military  restrictions  are  removed,  and  while  a  new  trial  of 
democracy  is  being  made  it  is  exceedingly  necessary  for  the  Dominicans  to  have  disin¬ 
terested  friends  who  can  help  guide  toward  the  new  days  and  who  can  aid  them  in 
facing  a  thousand  baffling  problems  which  must  be  met. 


F/ve  hundred  of  these  "Little  Red  School  Houses’’  were 
built  in  Santo  Domingo  under  the  directioti  of  the  national 
government  ivith  the  help  of  a  committee  of  parents  in 

each  conununity. 


In  spite  of  glorious  beginnings 
and  enormous  resources,  for 
more  than  300  years  there  was 
little  material  progress  and 
much  political  strife.  A  small 
circle  of  the  cultured  governed 
while  a  very  large  proportion 
of  illiterates  were  exploited. 


Carreterra  Duarte,  main  road  across  the  Island. 


Padre  Bellini,  first  philanthropist  of  the  Island. 


Existing  facilities  for  the  care  of  the  sick  in  this  country  are  very  poor.  The  number  of 
physicians  is  small,  about  one  to  every  8700  people,  nearly  all  located  in  cities  and  towns. 
Many  villages  have  no  physician  and  the  sick  must  be  carried  long  distances  to  the  few 
hospitals  where  a  properly  trained  nursing  corps  is  lacking.  Physicians  educated  in  the 
country  have  not  had  an  adequate  plant  in  which  to  get  practical  hospital  experience. 
There  is  great  need  for  improved  opportunities  for  medical  education. 

The  infant  mortality  is  as  high  in  some  localities  as  40%.  Malaria,  tuberculosis,  hook¬ 
worm  and  yaws  are  common.  Municipal  sanitation  is  only  just  beginning  to  be  developed. 
Organized  charitable  or  philanthropic  societies  are  almost  unknown  to  the  country.  Such 
hospitals  as  exist  are  private  or  supported  by  the  lotteries. 


Mothers  to  whom  the 
Baby  Welfare  Station  of 
the  International  Hos¬ 
pital  is  available.  Under- 
nonrished  children  are 
restored  to  normal 
weight  and  inexperi¬ 
enced  mothers  taught  to 
care  for  their  children. 


International  Hospital  Leadin 


in 


Public  Health 


EGINNING  with  clinics  and  house  to  house  visiting  in  1920  a  hospital  of  twenty- 
five  beds  (expanded  to  crowd  in  forty  at  times)  has  been  developed  gradually  in 
rented  quarters.  Meagerly  equipped,  housed  in  a  building  not  fit  for  hospital  pur¬ 
poses,  the  work  of  the  hospital  has  been  carried  on  successfully  and  continuously  for 
seven  years.  The  regular  training  of  nurses,  under  tremendous  handicaps  and  difficulties, 
is  just  beginning  to  bear  fruit  in  the  graduation  of  the  first  Dominican  nurses.  Miss 
Violet  M.  Parker  and  Miss  Katherine  L.  Fribley,  graduate  American  nurses  (Wesley 
Memorial  Hospital  of  Chicago)  have  carried  the  great  responsibility  of  this  training,  the 
baby  welfare  work  and  the  management  of  the  hospital.  Until  recently  an  American  phy¬ 
sician  has  been  in  charge  but  in  an  emergency  the  prominent  Dominican  physicians 
Dr.  Arturo  Damiron  Ricart  and  Dr.  Cruz  Ayala  have  taken  the  lead.  The  hospital  has 
never  been  more  flourishing  or  of  greater  service  than  it  is  at  present.  Their  waiting  list 
is  growing. 


•  Vi 

HPUPIP 

mmmam 

F  »<'.  .  1 

Proposed  design  for  the  new  hospital. 


During  the  past  year  60  per  cent  of  the  Hospital’s  budget  has  been  raised  in  Santo 
Domingo,  in  spite  of  poor  facilities  at  their  disposal;  665  patients  were  cared  for  in  the 
hospital,  5,596  new  patients  attended  clinics  and  there  were  5,192  revisits.  A  record  of 
the  residence  of  clinic  patients,  as  far  back  as  1924,  indicated  that  in  six  months  sixty- 
three  towns,  villages  and  cities  were  represented,  some  as  far  away  as  sixty  miles  to  the 
west,  seventy  miles  to  the  east  and  seventy-five  miles  to  the  north.  The  mode  of  travel  is 
on  donkey-back,  a-foot,  in  ox-carts  and  in  Fords. 

Former  President  Vicini  said:  "One  of  the  things  we  need  most  is  a  school  for  nurses. 
The  poor  people  know  nothing  of  how  to  care  for  themselves  and  even  the  rich  do  not 
have  the  proper  attention  while  they  are  sick.  If  you  will  give  special  attention  to  the 
training  of  nurses  it  will  not  only  benefit  the  people  from  the  standpoint  of  health  but 
it  will  create  a  new  occupation.  Our  young  women  would  thus  find  a  way  to  earn  their 
living  as  well  as  contribute  to  the  development  of  their  people.’’ 

A  Commission,  composed  largely  of  educational  specialists,  not  technically  interested  in 
the  medical  work  itself,  visiting  Santo  Domingo,  returned  unanimously  urging  that  to 
answer  the  overwhelming  demands  for  the  enlargement  of  the  medical  work  was  the 
most  important  service  that  could  be  rendered  to  the  Dominican  Republic  now,  in  spite 
of  other  very  apparent  needs. 

The  opinion  of  all  important  authorities  consulted  was  that  the  medical  work  must  be 
pushed  rapidly  and  should  be  along  the  lines  now  conducted:  Hospital,  public  clinics, 
including  baby  welfare  work,  visiting  nurse  service  and  nurses’  training,  and  education 
along  the  lines  of  hygiene  and  public  health. 


Student  nurses  of  the  International  Hospital  giving  service  to  their  people. 


Modem  Christian 


United  Program 


//N  the  past  tourists  have  avoided  Santo  Domingo  and  churches  and  philanthropic 
//  agencies  have  overlooked  it.  In  1919,  at  the  request  of  the  Committee  on  Coopera- 
/  tion  in  Latin  America,  a  body  representative  of  thirty  Protestant  mission  boards  carry¬ 
ing  on  -work  in  Latin  America,  its  Executive  Secretary,  Mr.  Samuel  G.  Inman,  visited 
the  island.  His  report  and  survey  made  the  neglect  of  Santo  Domingo  so  clear  that  it 
was  decided  to  organize  an  interdenominational  agency  to  administer  the  unique  pro¬ 
gram  of  service  adopted. 


This  united  service  is  different  from  any  other  missionary  program  in  the  world.  Its 
four-fold  aspects  arc  evangelistic,  medical,  educational  and  social.  Four  denominational 
boards  joined  in  this  BOARD  FOR  CHRISTIAN  WORK  IN  SANTO  DOMINGO. 

All  departments  of  the  work  have  met  with  remarkable  success.  The  evangelistic  work 
has  been  carried  on  first  by  Porto  Rican  pastors,  and  in  its  new  branches  by  the  young 
Dominican  pastors,  trained  under  the  auspices  of  the  Board.  Recently  the  Sunday  school 
in  Santo  Domingo  City  had  an  attendance  of  1000,  so  startling  an  achievement  as  to 
cause  much  local  newspaper  comment.  A  bookstore  is  conducted  serving  the  profes¬ 
sional  and  student  classes;  a  reading-room  is  provided  and  contacts  are  made  through 
the  distribution  of  good  books. 

An  earnest  effort  has  been  made  from  the  beginning  to  develop  self-supporting  churches. 
Progress  along  this  line  has  been  most  encouraging.  Practically  all  of  the  congregations 
are  paying  the  bulk  of  their  local  expenses  and  some  are  also  paying  a  portion  of  their 
pastors’  salaries. 


Board  of  Trustees 

of  the 

Board  for  Christian  Work  in  Santo  Domingo 

OFFICERS 

Mrs.  Fred  S.  Bennett,  President 
Samuel  Guy  Inman,  Secretary 
Whitford  L.  McDowell,  Treasurer 


Mrs.  Lillian  L.  Antrim 
Henry  Sloane  Coffin 
I.  Moyer  Hershey 
E.  Raymond  Hildreth,  M.D. 
Edward  D.  Kohlstedt 
Mrs.  Walter  C.  Lotte 
Mrs.  Roswell  Miller 
Edward  A.  Odell 
John  T.  Vance 
Miss  Edna  R.  Voss 
Mrs.  Samuel  S.  Williams 
Mrs.  May  L.  Woodruff 
Samuel  G.  Ziegler 


Office  of  Secretary  419  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


4 


Activities  of  the 

BOARD  FOR  CHRISTIAN  WORK  IN  SANTO  DOMINGO 

are  carried  on  at 

Santo  Domingo,  San  Pedro  De  Macoris,  La  Romana,  Hato  Mayor,  San  Cristobal, 

Barahona,  Bani,  and  La  Cumbre 


I 


